Razer has been quietly updating its peripheral lineup, including its Huntsman series of keyboards that used to be exclusively mechanical and using Razer-branded linear, tactile, or clicky switches. Then came optical switch versions that theoretically promise zero debounce and smoother travel owing to no mechanical components for the stem to physically move into, and this time it was either a linear Razer switch or a clicky one. It would be no surprise then that the natural progression of this was via analog switch versions of its popular keyboards. The full-size Huntsman V2 Analog was the first of these to launch a few months ago, with the use of "Razer Analog Optical Switches" to complete the set. These analog switches rely on optical sensors to detect the travel of the stem downward, akin to what the likes of Wooting have been doing for a while now, and aim to finally be the one peripheral to address the strengths of keyboards and game controllers collectively.

Perhaps the 100% form factor was too large for consumers, especially given analog switches have rarely found an established use case outside of gaming even today, so a smaller keyboard size may be what you are looking for. Razer certainly thinks as much, as today it introduced the Huntsman Mini Analog—a 60% form factor keyboard now employing the same Razer analog switches. With customization over the analog actuation in Razer Synapse between 1.5 and 3.6 mm, and plenty of games already good to go on Windows, the Huntsman Mini Analog might be also a dedicated game/macro pad in the making. It costs $149.99 in the US, which is a $20-30 hike over the equivalent Huntsman Mini keyboards with optical switches, and is a reasonable price increase with said context. Hit the link in the source to learn more, and perhaps purchase one if this is to your liking.

Wooting is a brand that is near and dear to me in that it brought about the most innovating keyboard feature in ages with its analog control Flaretech switches a few years ago. It's debut product—the Wooting One—is a tenkeyless (TKL) form factor keyboard, which was then supported by the full-size Wooting Two. New switches and an updated software suite came about earlier this year with the Wooting Two HE, whose review is in the works as we speak, but that did not stop the company from seeing everyone else come out with a 60% form factor keyboard this past year too. Enter then the Wooting 60HE, and it's already a commercial success!

Wooting went the crowdfunding route with the 60HE, but hosted the campaign on its own website rather than going the Kickstarter or Indiegogo route and giving a cut to the platform. It was a risk that paid off big time clearly, with the campaign meeting its goal within 12 hours and now stretch goals in the consideration, with the first one being a differently color USB cable. If you fancy being a founder, hit up the link below and see some other cool features available, including founder's only swag and even an Easter egg on the PCB itself. The Wooting 60HE can be backed starting from €154.99 (inc. VAT), which in itself is a 10% discount over the eventual MSRP of €169.99, and delivery is slated for Q2 of 2022.

The Input Club Keystone Mechanical Keyboard is an unparalleled leap forward in typing and gaming technology. It will launch on Kickstarter on July 16th, 2019 at 8 AM PST, at this link - kty.pe/keystone. The Keystone combines two new keyboard features - High Definition Analog Control and per-key fast Hall Effect (magnetic) sensing - for supreme performance. Our magnetic switch technology enables near-infinite customization, billion-press (Source: Honeywell Testing Article) durability (20x the industry standard), and analog control benefits for everyone. Full firmware programmability and RGB lighting round out its features.

This project is the future of mechanical keyboards. We believe that there is more to the main tool everyone uses for work, playing games, and connecting with others. Input Club is a group of engineers and designers who drive innovation in the field of input devices. The team formed in 2014 because there was very little innovation in the keyboard space. Our team has developed special mechanical keyswitches, open source keyboard firmware, and some of the more iconic keyboard designs to hit the marketplace. The Keystone is the next technological lead forward for keyboards - it is our flagship keyboard showcasing the best and most sought after features in a keyboard.

Readers of our website may be familiar with the Wooting brand for their then, and now, excellent Wooting One analog keyboard that we examined in late 2017. It impressed us enough to be the top keyboard for the year as well, and still remains one of the few keyboards to offer analog control at all, let alone on every single switch it is on. The company has since come out with a full-size Wooting Two, along with another switch option using a heavier spring. Their switches to date are linear optical switches manufactured by Flaretech to Wooting's design, and the company admitted there was not much more they could do with the current design. This brought us to Computex 2019, wherein they demonstrated their next generation switches for analog control, gave us some samples to take apart, and also showed off a neat prototype technology for the future- if it pans out, anyway.

The Hall effect has been used for keyboard switches in the past, as much as nearly four decades ago, no matter what some people may tell you when describing Steelseries' new switch from Computex also based off the Hall effect. Indeed, it had a small resurgence a couple of years ago in the enthusiast keyboard arena when "Ace Pad" and "XMIT" worked together for a Massdrop-exclusive keyboard, but 2019 does seem to be the year they come back in the public eye. Wooting's take is called the Lekker switch, a word in Dutch that can stand for different things depending on the context but generally stands for something impressive. Read past the break for more on the Lekker switch, as well as other things that might interest you.

The Input Club Keystone Mechanical Keyboard is an unparalleled leap forward in typing and gaming technology. The Keystone combines two new keyboard features - High Definition Analog Control and per-key fast Hall Effect (magnetic) sensing - for supreme performance. Our magnetic switch technology enables near-infinite customization, billion-press durability (20x the industry standard), and analog control benefits for everyone. Full firmware programmability and RGB lighting round out its features. This project is the future of mechanical keyboards; join our waitlist to have the future of keyboards at your fingertips.

The Keystone brings novel features together to continue pushing keyboard invention further - with its SILO Hall Effect and High Definition Analog Switches. These are both keyboard switch technologies that have been produced in the past, separately, but this implementation takes them to the next level. With Hall Effect switches, instead of relying on a bending piece of metal for actuation, your keyboard tracks the movement of a magnet. This allows you to change when and where the keyboard receives the signal, while also providing a billion press switch lifespan that simply cannot be competed with.

[Editor's note: Our own review of the Cooler Master MK850 is published here for those interested to know more.]

Cooler Master, a global leader in designing and manufacturing innovative gaming peripherals and computer components, today announces the release of its new analog mechanical gaming keyboard, the MK850. "The MK850 is the world's first mechanical keyboard, using Cherry MX switches, capable of sensing exactly how far down you press the key," says Lance Madsen, Aimpad Principle Engineer. "It provides unparalleled control in even the most demanding PC games."

"We wanted to implement Aimpad technology to provide gamers with an extra tool and to push our innovation efforts to the next level," says Bryant Nguyen, Peripheral General Manager. " What sets the MK850 apart is that it is the only analog keyboard that uses prestigious Cherry MX switches and can sense the entire 4mm range of a key press versus competitor analog keyboards that are only capable of measuring 2mm of analog movement and do not utilize Cherry MX switches.